Academy Notebook: U16s, U18s results

Remi Prieur and his U-16 Quakes Academy teammates widened their lead on the rest of the Northwest Division last weekend with a 2-1 victory over Nomads SC in San Diego, thanks to a tie-breaking goal by Jonathan Partida in the 64th minute.

Prieur was spectacular again, stopping all but one shot in the 16s’ 11th win of the season. Philip Hausen scored his team-leading 8th goal of the year in the 30th minute to stake San Jose to a 1-0 advantage. Just after the half, Nomads SC found a way to do what many have failed to this season, score on Prieur. Partida’s 3rd goal of the season broke the tie and gave San Jose the victory.

The match marked the 13th consecutive in which the Quakes have allowed just a single goal or less, going all the way back to the opening weekend of the season.

Sunday saw the 16s square off with the San Diego Surf and it was Eddie Solarzano between the pipes in a 1-1 draw. Solarzano improved his personal record to 3-1-1 with the result, a hard-fought battle that saw both sides with chances to steal the victory. Isaias Pio scored his first goal of the year in the 29th minute for San Jose before San Diego was able to get the equalizer in the 42nd. Solarazano turned away shot after shot in the 2nd half to preserve the tie and grab a point for the division-leading Quakes. They’ve now given up just 13 goals in 16 matches, and have extended their “1 goal or less” streak to a gaudy 14 games. They hold a 6-point lead on Vancouver and have three more wins than either Vancouver or Seattle in the division. The 16s will enjoy the rest of the month off as they prepare for a full slate in March, including three home matches and a pair in the Great Northwest at the end of the month.

The 18s saw their 7-match unbeaten streak snapped by Nomads SC in a tough 4-3 decision Saturday afternoon when their late match heroics fell just short. Nomads jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from Saul Aquino in a four-minute span, and that’s the way it was at the half. After another goal pushed the advantage to 3-0 early in the second half, it was time for the Quakes’ offense to get involved. Macario Hing-Glover continued his hot play, scoring his fourth goal in a five-match stretch in the 59th minute to get San Jose on the board. Amir Bashti scored in the 70th minute, but so did Nomads’ Karl Lavoile, leaving the Quakes in a 4-2 hole with 20 minutes left to play. The San Jose offense turned up the heat and drew within one goal when Rodrigo Gonzalez Villamar got his second of the year in the 86th minute, but San Jose couldn’t find the equalizer.

Luke Dennison was back in net for his second game of the weekend and he looked much more like the Dennison he has been throughout the year, leading the 18s to a 1-0 win over the San Diego Surf. Roberto Mendoza tallied his second goal of the season in the 87th minute to give Dennison all he’d need. The 18s sit in 5th place in the division, but just 4 points behind second-place Vancouver, whom they’ll play up north next month. After three home matches with Southwest Division foes to begin the month, the 18s will have a pair of matches with the utmost importance for the division crown, March 29 and 30 against Vancouver and Crossfire Premiere, both teams that sit ahead of them in the standings.